BIRDS AND BIRD LIFE 



21 



oped (Fig. 9). The duck, for example, lays but few eggs in 

 a year, usually only from ten to twenty-five, the nests being 

 generally made in low, wet, swampy places. The cry of 

 the water bird varies with different types. The character- 

 istic quack, quack of the duck should be familiar to every 

 boy and girl. Eggs of the water breeds require a longer 

 time for hatching than those of either the land or air birds. 



FIG. 10. Brown Pelicans at their nesting site. One of the most picturesque 

 sights of the southern coasts is afforded by these birds as they flap over the waves, 

 or rest lightly on the water. The fish on which they mainly live are not of species 

 used as food by man. (Photo by B. S. Bowdish, Secretary of New Jersey Audubon 

 Society.) 



With the common duck the period of incubation is about 

 twenty-eight days. Some of the wild aquatic birds may 

 be mentioned. Among them is the pelican (Fig. 10), which 

 is a large bird, of peculiar shape, especially adapted to the 

 eating of fish. It catches a number of fish, stores them hi 

 a pouch below its bill, and eats them when it wishes. The 

 gull lives both in the air and hi the water. It has highly 

 developed wings, and is capable of extended flight. 



